Alone with Destiny
by valsolo
Summary: After REBEL STAND, Jaina finds herself contemplating her destiny while alone with one very appealing Jedi master.


There it was again. that penetrating look in his smoldering brown eyes that called to her, beckoned her.. challenged her to look back. Ever since their little 'picnic', he had been more withdrawn from her, yet at the same time she seemed to be feeling him in the Force more than ever. Anytime she found herself alone with him, she instantly felt his gaze on her. in her. He knew her better than anyone, even her own family and the man she supposedly loved. Things had happened between them that had bonded them more closely than she could have ever imagined. She had toyed with the Dark side, and he had been the one to save her from her own self- destruction. Despite how badly she treated him, he remained by her side, loyal and faithful, never wavering in his devotion.  
  
"Don't look at me like that," she ordered softly trying not to look at him. His gaze made her very uneasy. that funny feeling still there after all this time.  
  
"Like what?" he replied with a smug little grin. He was leaning against the wall opposite her watching her work on the alien navigation console. He'd never claimed to be much of a mechanic, so he was here only as an aide while the 'true' mechanic did her 'stuff.'  
  
She stopped what she was doing and laid down her tools. Heaving a big sigh, she pushed back from being on all fours and settled into a cross- legged sitting position. "Like.like that!" she declared flailing an arm in his direction. "It's---it's."  
  
"It's what?" he questioned uncrossing his arms.  
  
"It's annoying!" she spat. "It makes me feel. uncomfortable."  
  
Kyp hid a snort and moved to sit down next to her. "Uncomfortable, huh?" he asked. "And why is that, oh Great One? I didn't think anything or anyone could get under your skin."  
  
"Yeah, well, you get the prize, Durron. Happy?" Jaina Solo glared at the Jedi seated next to her and instantly wished she hadn't. Her stomach did a little flip at the passion veiled behind his sultry eyes. It had only been recently that she had suddenly begun looking at him as a man and found that he was actually quite attractive. She didn't know why her perception of him had changed, only that it had and was causing her no end of torment.  
  
Jaina was stuck alone with Kyp in the middle of space in a captured Yuuzhan Vong vessel, and had been for several days. They were on an intelligence recon mission, waiting for a contact to show up. After this long of a wait, Jaina was beginning to wonder if this so called 'contact' even existed.  
  
Jag Fel, her 'significant other', had grudgingly accepted the fact that he was out of this mission. He planned on using the time to visit his father and gage the Chiss sentiments toward the new 'rebellion' begun by Wedge and some of the others. He and Jaina said their goodbyes and vowed to be thinking only of one another throughout their whole absence. What Jaina hadn't banked on was one increasingly appealing Jedi master to throw her whole existence out of whack.  
  
"I could be," Kyp responded in a near whisper, his eyes never leaving hers.  
  
"Be what?" she asked.  
  
Kyp chuckled softly. "Happy," he stated. Jaina felt her face heating up as he continued to look at her and grin. just a small smile that barely pulled up the corners of his lips. She couldn't help but stare at his mouth and then back up into his eyes.  
  
** Did they just twinkle?** she asked herself.  
  
"What-what would make you happy?" she asked swallowing hard and standing up, wanting to kick herself as soon as the words left her mouth.  
  
Kyp casually uncrossed his legs and stood also. "Well, let's see, what would make me happy? Hmmmm. of course, a quick end to this war would probably make me happy." He took a step toward Jaina and she reflexively backed up.  
  
"A fancy new starfighter might make me happy." Jaina took another step back.  
  
"A new squadron to command. a nice shiny pair of new boots. a tender, succulent nerf steak to sink my teeth into." With each statement Kyp continued to come closer to Jaina and she continued to retreat until her back came up against the wall. There was nowhere else for her to run. He was right in front of her, only inches away, and she couldn't move a muscle. He braced one arm on the wall beside her and used his free hand to gently wipe a smudge of dirt from her chin.  
  
His touch was electric. Jaina blinked her eyes and gasped lightly.  
  
"What about you, Jaina?" he whispered. "What would make you happy?" He kept his thumb on her chin and forced her to look at him. His dark eyes pierced her very soul, it seemed, and gazing into them she was surprised to find her own reflection staring back at her. She licked her lips as if gearing up for a response, but Kyp stopped her by placing his finger gently over her lips.  
  
"You don't have to say it. I already know the answer," he said confidently, "and it's not Jagged Fel."  
  
"It's not, huh?" Jaina tried to sound perturbed but the fact that he was so close was wreaking havoc with her senses. Kyp shook his head ever so slightly from side to side, again his eyes never straying from Jaina's. "You were right about one thing, you know."  
  
"Wh-what was that?" She attempted to widen the distance between them by pushing herself further against the wall, but her body was rebelling and seemed to be drifting even closer to Kyp's.  
  
"When you said we weren't Master and apprentice or boyfriend and girlfriend." Kyp spoke slowly and his voice was almost a low growl sending shivers of pleasure down Jaina's spine. "Those labels don't work for what we share, do they? What we have is so. much. more." His face was so near that she could feel the heat radiating off of his cheeks, his nose barely brushing hers, his lips hovering just above her mouth.  
  
"You've been trying to fight it. I've felt you struggling against it, but it isn't working, is it, Jaina? The Force keeps bringing us back together. And now," he paused looking down at her lips and caressing her cheek with his fingertips, "here we are. alone. you and me.it's our destiny."  
  
Jaina forced her head to clear for just a moment and think about what Kyp was saying and doing. His intent was clear. He wanted to add a new facet to their relationship. a romantic twist. But she already had romance with Jag--- didn't she? Yet what she and Kyp had together was so much more than mere romance. It was a bond deeper than any she had ever known, and part of her thought this the next logical step in their very complicated relationship.  
  
At the same time another part of her brain was screaming out, "You can't do this!!! What about Jag? This is Kyp Durron here! What will everyone say?" Closing her eyes, she tried to force thoughts of Kyp out of her mind and focus on Jag. However, every time she brought up Jag's face, it was quickly replaced by Kyp's and the memories they shared. They'd been through so much in the past year. Without him, she might never have survived this long and remained on the light side. He had been her salvation.  
  
Was it in fact her destiny to be with Kyp?  
  
She opened her eyes and he was still there in front of her, that loving look in his eyes and tiny smile on his lips. Somehow, by some crazy twist of Force fate, she knew in that instant that they belonged together.  
  
"You know it, too, don't you?" he asked tilting his head to the side and studying her face more deeply.  
  
Jaina took a deep breath and nodded once. Her hand slid up to touch his face and he leaned back in towards her lips. Their mouths hovered without touching while heartbeats sped to breakneck rates. Finally Kyp moved just enough to brush Jaina's lips with his own. The one taste of her was all he needed before he boldly claimed her soft, warm mouth in a kiss that released all of the penned up passion he'd been keeping locked away. With that kiss, Jaina gave her soul, her very being to the man who was her destiny.  
  
After a few moments, they reluctantly pulled apart, neither wanting the magic to end, but both needing to get some air into their lungs.  
  
"Yes," Jaina replied breathlessly. "I know."  
  
And then she kissed him again. 


End file.
